Keeper
by NinjaGal183
Summary: It doesn't matter how long or how many. You never forget your first. Gabriel Gray was no exception. Sylar/OC
1. New Choices, Old Faces

**My OC's name is Jackie (Yes, I already know there's a character named Jackie on the show, but it was the only name I liked and seemed really fitting :P) Please leave a review when you're finished!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Heroes!**

She felt a hand smoothly rub up and down her arm followed by a kiss on her shoulder that slowly made its way to her jaw. His lips lingered for a while on her neck causing her to slowly open her eyes and turn over. The morning sunlight hit her face as she found the man's lips. His hand trailed down her side and stopped on her hip. She turned on her back again as his hands rested on either side of her neck. Finally he pulled away from the kiss and glanced down at her.

"Good morning," Nathan said, wrapping one arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him.

Jackie turned her head and looked around the room. "Guess you stayed over again" she said

Nathan Petrelli chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did" he replied, giving her another long kiss. She put a hand to his chest and gently pushed him away. She smiled which only caused him to frown because he knew it was a fake one. "Something wrong?" he asked, moving her hand away from his chest and holding it in his. His thumb brushed the smooth skin of her hand.

"No, everything's great" she said

Nathan sighed and stood up, grabbing his shirt from the ground. "Come on, Jackie. It's always something" he told her, walking over to her mirror and buttoning up his shirt.

Jackie pulled the sheet up to her chest and sat up, grabbing her own clothes from the ground. She put on her jeans and reached for Nathan's tie. He wrapped one arm around her waist and nipped at her earlobe. She didn't say anything and handed him his tie. Jackie pulled her shirt over her head and watched as he walked back to the mirror and tied his tie.

"Actually, Nathan. Something is wrong" Jackie admitted guiltily. Nathan looked at her in the mirror as he buttoned his sleeves. "I can't do this anymore" she said.

Nathan stopped and turned around. "Are we doing this again?" he said, as though it as a reoccurring thing.

Jackie forced herself not to frown at his attitude. "I'm serious this time. All of the sneaking around and these 'work-related' dinner meetings we've been having. If this comes out it'll ruin your career, not to mention mine" Jackie explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

Nathan walked over and reached for her hands, but she quickly pulled away before he could. "Jackie—" he started

"Nathan, stop" she interrupted. He was quiet and waited for her to finish. "Even you can't deny that this is a bad relationship, I can't look at Heidi in the eye anymore"

"Jackie, you—"

"I know why too, Nathan" she interrupted again "After your wife was paralyzed you're trying to make up for what you can't have with her. But I can't be your safety net. Heidi is a good person and she doesn't deserve this. Especially with everything that's happening—"

He ran a hand over his face. "So that's it, you're going to pretend nothing happened?" he asked sourly

She sighed. "I have to. This is better for both of us" she explained, but he didn't seem convinced. "I'm still your friend, Nathan. I mean, if anyone runs into any trouble—"

"Right," he said shortly, grabbing his jacket and stormed out of the room.

Before Jackie had a chance to say anything else, she heard the door slam shut and she flinched. She exhaled through her mouth and went into the bathroom to wash up. The rest of the apartment was quiet for a minute until she heard Ross's footsteps shuffle through the hall. Jackie filled the coffee pot and cracked two eggs into a frying pan as he entered the dining room. She stole a quick glance at the clock.

"Kind of early to be up, don't you think?" she said without turning around.

"Yeah, next time you might want to tell your boyfriend not to slam the door. Wouldn't be surprised if he woke the whole floor" he added in mutter, taking a mug out of the cupboard.

"Sorry, you don't have to worry about him anymore" she replied as Ross poured himself the coffee and walked back to the dining table. Jackie turned her head. "He didn't wake the boys, did he?" she asked, scanning the small hallway.

"Are you kidding? They sleep like the dead" he told her, taking a sip of coffee. "So I'm not ever going to meet this Mr. X?" he added

Jackie transferred the fried eggs to a plate. "No, I ended things. For good this time" she explained

"Wow, you didn't even introduce me to him. If he's causing trouble, I think I have a right to know about him, don't you? If it's an on-again, off-again relationship, it's just going to get ugly. Believe me, I have personal experience in that department" he said

She rolled her eyes. "Ross, please don't lecture me on this, okay? You're not Dad. I appreciate your concern in my love life, but it can get pretty annoying" Jackie said, grabbing some coffee for herself.

"Well then, don't call it concern. Call it suspicion" he suggested, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. Jackie gave him a confused expression to which he just shrugged. "I don't know, Jackie. You would always date a guy for two weeks before introducing him to the family. You've been with this guy for a few months and I don't even know his name. Is he a thug? Con?" he asked

Jackie scoffed. "No, he's not a thug or a con, Ross" she replied. "He wasn't the super intimate type and our relationship was very unhealthy. I'm sparing you the facts"

"Hey, less details I know about your sex life the better. I'm not interested" he answered bluntly

"Shh! Do you want them to hear you?" she hissed sharply, pointing her chin towards the corridor. "Okay, enough about me, let's discuss your love life shall we? You have that therapy session with Ava today" she said, sitting down across from him again.

Ross hung his head back and groaned. "Don't remind me"

Jackie squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Hey, I told you you're welcomed to stay with me as long as you need to, but if you really want to stay together for your sons' sake, you have to help her and try to make it _work_" she emphasized. Ross gave her a tired smile as her head twitched to look behind him. "He's up"

Right on cue a small boy appeared through the corridor, rubbing his eye and yawning. Jackie smiled down at him.

"Hey buddy" she said

Ross picked him up and sat his son down on his lap. "Dominic, what do you say?"

He blinked a few times until his eyes focused on her. "Good morning Aunt Jackie" he said. She chuckled and walked into the kitchen to prepare a bowl of cereal for him. "Daddy, I miss Mommy. When can we go see her?" he asked

Jackie took out the milk from the fridge and eyed her brother. Ross glanced at her quickly before looking back down at his son. "Uh, listen buddy. Today's not the best time. Your mommy and I are not really having the best—"

"You know what; I don't have to go to work today so why don't we all go to the park before dinner?" Jackie suggested, walking over to the side of the table and knelt down to Dominic's level. "I'll even buy you a big ice cream cone, how does that sound?" she asked

Dominic eyes widened with delight. "Really?" he asked excitedly "And Kellan too?"

Jackie smiled. "Of course" she said "Now go wash up and eat" she told him. With that, Dominic ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Ross ran a hand over his face. "How am I suppose to tell him?" he said.

"You don't. He's too young to understand" she answered, glancing at the clock. "Not to ruin your morning but your session starts in an hour"

O-0-o

After Ross's session, they all went to the park like they promised Nic. He made a beeline for the monkey bars as Ross pushed Kellan in his stroller. Jackie sat down on the bench and watched Nic as Ross unstrapped Kellan from his stroller.

"They're not kidding when they say they grow up fast. I could've sworn he was smaller than my arm yesterday" Ross pointed out as he balanced his son in the crook of his arm. Jackie shook her head amusingly. "Thanks for doing this" he added

Jackie shrugged as she watched Dominic climb up one of the slides. "Least I can do" she answered. Her eyes scanned the park around her and suddenly stopped on the other side of the playground. There was a man sitting on the opposite bench with a newspaper held up to his face. Jackie shifted uncomfortably and kept her stare glued on him. "Uh, Ross why don't you take Kellan to those swings, I'm expecting a phone call soon"

Ross snorted as he stood up from the bench. "Let me guess, the Petrellis'?" he said "I don't get why those guys can't just leave you alone for five minutes"

She rolled her eyes. "They're a little more than good clients, Ross. They're good friends" she said in their defense.

"I'm not saying that, Jackie. I just think with the kind of money they have, they should be paying you a little bit more" he replied before walking towards the swings while balancing Kellan on his hip.

Jackie waited until Ross was far enough to lose sight of her and walked underneath the shade of a tree. She leaned against it and glanced back at where she saw the man with the newspaper, but he was gone. Jackie heard his footsteps walk around behind her. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm going to pretend it's a coincidence that you just so happen to find me in New York while I'm out spending some quality time with my nephews" she said irritability as the man stood several feet in front of her with a folder in one hand. "But we both know that's not true now is it, Mr. Bennet?" she said sourly

The man in the horn-rimmed glasses smiled at her. "Hello Jacqueline. It's been a long time"

She didn't say anything. "Why don't we skip the small talk? We both know you didn't come all the way here just to have a chat with me" she said, then eyed the folder that was in his hand "In fact, you wouldn't be here at all unless it had something to do with the company"

Noah chuckled, confirming to her that her first thought was correct. Jackie dug her nails into her skin. "That's actually why I'm here. We need your help" he explained, causing Jackie to roll her eyes. "I'd like you to come back and work for the company" he said


	2. Decisions

**Thank you to those who favorited/followed!**

Noah chuckled, confirming to her that her first thought was correct. Jackie dug her nails into her skin. "That's actually why I'm here. We need your help" he explained, causing Jackie to roll her eyes. "I'd like you to come back and work for the company" he said

"That's not going to happen" she answered immediately. "I retired from the company years ago. I've finally reconnected with my family. I have a real career"

"And if I recall correctly, I personally invested in your tuition so you could go to law school" he said calmly. "I could've let you struggle and maybe you wouldn't be a lawyer today, you'd be working at a third class diner as a waitress"

She exhaled through her mouth. "An 'I owe you' is that what this is?" she said. Jackie stole a quick glance at her brother who was still pushing Kellan in the small swing before looking back at him. "I have something normal. I intend to keep it that way" she said in a low voice and began to walk back towards the playground.

"What do you know about a man named Sylar?" he asked out of the blue, causing her to stop in her tracks.

She turned her body and looked at him quizzically, but didn't answer. She's heard the name before, definitely. Certain people she knew whispered the name and passed it on to her, but there was always a new story. It was hard to tell which one was true.

"I've heard rumors" she said simply. Bennet waited for her to finish her response. Jackie put her hands in her pocket. "Something about a guy sawing off people's heads, some of them with the brain missing. He vanishes, no one ever sees him. Doesn't steal anything of materialistic value"

"Do you believe it?" Noah asked casually.

Jackie frowned. "Of course not" she replied "Sounds more like a bedtime story you use to scare the little kids. Why?"

Noah approached her and held out the folder. "Maybe this'll put the rumors to rest" he suggested

She looked at him suspiciously before taking the folder from his hand and flipped it open. Her eyes widened as they landed on the first picture. A woman sprawled on a carpet with her head lying in a pool of blood. The top of her head was sawed off.

Jackie felt a small wave of nausea pass through her as she stared at it. "Oh god" she whispered as she flipped through the next several pictures. They were all the same; dead people with the top of their heads missing. She skimmed through the file. She knew about murderers and serial killers but this was just sick.

"They're from all over the states. Oregon, Utah, Arizona, just to name a few" Bennet told her.

She glanced at him quickly, almost forgetting that he was there then looked back down at the pictures. "What do the victims have in common?" she asked without lifting her head again.

"They all had abilities" he answered. Jackie's head shot up and she stared at him in disbelief. "That's right, Jackie. He murders people and collects their ability. It's only a matter of time before he shows up on your doorstep to kill you or your family" he said. On the last two words, his eyes darted towards the playground.

She swallowed as she felt a chill run down her spine. "You have other special agents to pick out from, why come and find me?" she asked

"You were the company's best hunter" he explained

"_One_ of the best hunters" she corrected "My ability is nothing that special. You have Eden and Elle, just to list a few. Besides that, I haven't used my ability in a long time" she told him.

"Is that so? Wasn't it with the help of your ability that you discovered I was here in the park?" he asked wryly. She glared at him. Bennet sighed and took a step towards her "He's real, Jackie. As real as you and I. He could be murdering and collecting others' abilities right now as we speak. I need your help, Jackie"

She was quiet for a second. "I haven't used my power intentionally for a very long time" she answered, closing the folder and holding it out to him. "You're going to have to find someone else to recruit for your company. This is no long my concern, I'm sorry" Jackie said. She was about to turn around when Noah grabbed her arm.

"I'm going to be staying in New York for a few days. If you change your mind, you can call me at this number" he said, pulling a card out of his pocket.

Jackie took the card from his hand and sighed. "Take care of yourself, Noah" she said and walked back to the park. Ross was walking over to her with Kellan in his arm and Nic walking next to him. She mustered a smile as they approached her. "Hey, I was thinking that we could go grab some Thai food for dinner" she suggested. Just as Nic was excitedly agreeing, her cell phone rang in her pocket.

Ross frowned. "Petrelli?" he asked

She nodded and reluctantly answered the phone, half-expecting it to be Nathan. "Jacqueline Sharp" she said into the phone.

"Jackie? Jackie, its Peter" the male voice spoke. She silently exhaled in relief and let him continue. "Listen, I need you to come down to the police station. My mom got arrested" he said

His voice wasn't filled with urgency like it usually would, but it was probably because Ms. Petrelli had been getting into quite some trouble. If Jackie had to guess, it had to do with her husband's death. Ms. Petrelli seemed more absentminded since her husband's funeral. She wasn't the same and everyone noticed. Jacqueline didn't know him as well as she knew Peter, Nathan or Angela and she didn't really get to before his unfortunate death.

Jacqueline pulled herself out of her thoughts and turned her attention back to Peter on the phone. "Again? What was it this time?" she asked coolly.

She heard him hesitate on the other side. "She stole some socks" he admitted reluctantly

"Socks?" she repeated unbelievably. "Alright, I'll be right there" she added before ending the call and turning to her brother.

"Trouble?" he said obviously to which she nodded. Dominic groaned sadly which made her feel even worse.

She reached in her pocket and pulled out some money. "You know what, on me. Grab some food and any flavor ice cream this little guy wants" she said, handing the money in Ross's hand. Dominic perked a little at the sound of ice cream, but Ross's disapproving stare told her she wasn't going to get off easy. "I'll be back in time for dinner" she promised. Jackie kissed Nic on the head before quickly flagging down a taxi.

O-0-o

Jackie had changed into more professional looking clothes and stepped out of the cab in front of the police station. Peter stood from his chair as she walked in. Nathan was there too, speaking with one of the officers. She walked towards Peter as Nathan turned his head to her.

"Hey, thanks for coming. I know its short notice" Peter said, giving her a friendly hug.

"It's what I'm here for" she replied, as he pulled away from the hug. "Where is she?"

Peter led her towards the interrogation room with Nathan following behind them. Angela was casually sitting in the chair with her hands folded in her lap. She gave her a dry smile.

"You have nothing to worry about" Angela told her "They're dropping the charges. All I have to do is fill out a form, it's not a big deal"

"Not a big deal?" Nathan demanded "I'm running for Congress, do you have any idea what this'll do to my image?"

"Nathan, leave her alone" Peter told his brother "She's okay, that's all that matters" he added

Jackie pursed her lips. "I'll help you deal with the paperwork. In an hour, we'll all be out of here and pretend this never happened" she told them

"Christ, the press is gonna start lining up outside" Nathan muttered to himself. "This thing has to stay buried" he added, quickly pulling out his cell phone and started dialing.

An officer walked in and handed her the paperwork. She quickly looked through it and Nathan walked out the door without saying another word to anyone. Peter watched him go and then glanced at Jackie suspiciously.

"Something wrong?" Peter asked her.

"What do you mean?" she replied without looking up from the paperwork. She handed Angela a pen out of her bag and showed her where to sign.

"You and Nathan hardly said a word to each other" he pointed out

Jackie froze. Of course Peter and Angela knew nothing about the affair between them, but did they really talk so much that it was suspicious if they didn't talk. "I guess he's just worried about his campaign. The fact that he's ten points behind must be stressing him out" she replied with an indifferent shrug. "You know how seriously Nathan takes all this"

"Yeah, of course I do" Peter answered wryly

Angela looked at her out of the corner of her eye and put the pen down when she finished signing. Jackie took the papers and handed them to the officer at the desk. "If you're not charging my client, may she leave?" she asked, saying it more as a request than a question.

The officer looked over the paperwork before silently nodding to her. Jackie gestured to Peter and Angela and they walked out of the room. "Thanks a lot, Jackie" Peter told her.

"It's not a big deal, Peter" she said, shrugging it off.

"No it is" he insisted "Glad I can count on you"

Jackie pursed her lips. When she broke things off with Nathan she had hoped the guilt would stop following her around, but it was still there. The Petrellis' have always been humble towards her. "Right..." she said, then looked down at her watch "Well, I better get going" she told them and headed towards the exit. Jackie walked outside and took her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Hello?"

"Nathan, it's me, we have to talk" she said into the phone. A cab pulled over to the curb and stopped in front of her.

"What's this about, Jacqueline?" he asked dryly

"I think you know" Jackie answered shortly as she sat inside the taxi. "Where are you?" she asked

"Campaign office. Meet me here" he said

She looked down at her watch. "I'll be there in twenty minutes" she told him then hung up.

O-0-o

Jackie handed the driver his money and walked inside Nathan's campaign office. It was busy like it usually was. Nathan was at his desk talking on the phone. He glanced over at her before speaking into the mouthpiece and then hung up.

"Miss. Sharp, this is a pleasant surprise" he said for the benefit of the others around him. "How can I help you?" he added, putting his hands on his hips.

Jackie restrained herself from rolling her eyes and walked towards a more private area as Nathan followed behind her. She walked inside his office. "If there's one thing you're good at, Nathan, its subtlety" she told him as he closed the door. "But then again, maybe you're not so subtle"

Nathan frowned. "What're you talking about?" he asked

"Peter" she replied "He noticed that there was some tension between us down at the police station. You haven't told anyone anything, have you?" she asked seriously

"No" he answered

"Good" she said. Nathan folded his arms over his chest. Jackie sighed. "Nathan we have to move past this. That means we can't have any tension between us. If you want to win this election, this has to be water under the bridge"

"I agree" he said shortly. Jackie nodded once to him and was about to walk out. "Just one thing. How do I know you won't use this to blackmail me later?"

She stopped and turned her head with a raised eyebrow. "If I went public with this, I would be jeopardizing my own career and that's not something I can afford to let happen" she answered. "I guess it's a good thing I know you won't do it either for the same reasons" she said, and then walked out.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked

"There are taxis in New York, Nathan" she said irritably without turning around. Jackie walked out of the campaign office without saying another word. It was dark now. She waved to a taxi and went home. Even on the days she wasn't working, it somehow managed to catch up to her. She was late for dinner, which meant she was going to have to explain to Ross and Dominic. She threw her head back and sighed.

"Long day?" the taxi driver asked

"You have no idea" she answered as he stopped in front of her apartment building. She thanked him and gave the cash before climbing out. Jackie held her heels by the straps and stepped inside the elevator. She thought about what Bennet had told her. This Sylar person could be anywhere. She didn't know where he was, or what he looked like. He could've been watching her for all she knew. The thought gave her anxiety. For the longest time the company was all she knew. They took care of her, particularly Bennet. In a way it was like her family, but also like an addiction. If she went back to the company, who knew how long it would be before her life was normal again. The fact that the company was her first life made it much harder.

Jackie pulled the card out of her pocket and stared at it. Bennet was persuasive, she would give him that much. She put the card back in her pocket and unlocked the door to her apartment. Unsurprisingly, Ross was waiting for her. Jackie put down her bag. "Where's Dominic?" she asked

"Sleeping" he answered

Jackie walked over to the fridge and took out what was left of the Thai food. "Can this wait until tomorrow?" she asked

Ross stood up and walked over to the counter. "Maybe" he said, as she put the food in the microwave. "Or maybe you could tell me what happened today"

"Peter Petrelli called and asked me to help with an emergency. It wasn't anything—"

"I'm not talking about Petrelli's call, Jackie. I'm talking about you're old company boss showing up at the park this afternoon" he said. She was quiet. Ross knew about her old life and people with special abilities. Needless to say he wasn't really fond about it for his own reasons. "What was he doing here?" he questioned.

Jackie took the food out of the microwave and grabbed a fork. "He was on one of his business trips and he stopped by to say hello" she explained simply, walking over to the table.

"Come on, Jackie, don't give me that crap. You're telling me he showed up out of the blue and stalks you just to talk about old times?" he snapped, walking over to her.

"Shh! Do you want to wake them?!" she snapped back, cocking her head towards the hall. Ross's eyes flicked towards the room before looking back at her. His eyes demanding the first question again. Jackie calmed down. "They ran into a little trouble. Apparently there's some guy running around killing people and taking their ability"

Ross blinked at her explanation. "Taking their abilities?" he repeated, folding his arms over his chest "So he's hunting people..."

"People like me, yes" she finished for him, causing Ross to visibly stiffen. "And since I have a bit more experience with Bennet's strategies, he came here to recruit me and...I've been considering it" Jackie admitted

"No. No way" Ross answered immediately

"Ross—"

"Jackie, you can't go back" he told her, though it sounded more like a command. He began to walk towards the bedroom.

She spun around and stopped him. "I know you don't like them—"

"And for good reason, Jackie!" he said a little loudly. Both of them looked down the hall again, expecting to see Dominic come from the room. Ross sat down on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. "It's because of them I didn't know you existed. You go back to that company and who knows, Dominic might be graduating high school by the time you're done"

Jackie sat down next to him with her hands folded. "Bennet told me it was only a matter of time before he shows up to kill me. But if I'm not there, it might be you or Dominic, maybe even Kellan. Do you want that to happen?" she asked, shaking his arm

"If this guy's here in New York, why haven't they caught him?" he pointed out

"They don't know where he is. Which is why they need my help" she explained

Ross stood up abruptly. "They don't need your help, Jackie. They need your ability" he replied "You can never trust them"

"Oh for god's sake, Ross, stop acting like you understand how this company works because you don't!" she said impatiently "I trust Bennet. It's just one assignment and then—"

"That's the thing, Jackie. It starts off with one assignment and then it's another one and then another. You go back to the company you fall off the face of the earth permanently. How the hell am I supposed to explain to Nic or Kellan what happened to you?"

Jackie stood up abruptly. "I worked with the company a lot longer than you think. I know how to take care of myself!"

"You're not going back there" Ross said icily.

"I'm not your wife!" she snapped. "I'm not the only one that's at risk here; you and your sons are too. This guy saws off people's heads, some of them have their brains missing. If he comes here I might not be home, but what if it's you, or Nic, even Kellan?"

Before Ross could answer back, Kellan's cry was heard from the end of the hall. He gave her a long hard look. "I get it" he said shortly "You'd rather go chase a psycho killer because that company was your first family. And how can you abandon family, right?"

"It's not like that and you know it" Jackie said icily as Ross stormed by her and went to calm down Kellan. She sighed deeply and collapsed on the couch with her arm over her eyes. She let the exhaustion take its toll and closed her eyes.

She was in the Primatech building where the holding cells were. It was dark and all except one cell was empty. Dominic was in a crumpled heap in the corner. Ross was on the ground in a pool of his own blood. The top of his head was gone. Jackie swallowed back her scream when she heard Kellan's cries echo off the walls. Before she could run and pinpoint the source, she sensed that she wasn't alone. Someone else was here with her. Alive. Before she could even flinch, two strong hands grabbed her arms from behind and held her there. Suddenly she was immobile. Jackie tried to move but she couldn't even lift a finger. The man behind her must've sensed her struggle because he laughed mirthlessly. Jackie felt his warm breath on her ear, his grip tightening the more she felt his body heat.

"I knew you'd come" he said in a raspy voice.

Jackie gasped. Her head throbbed something awful. Jackie groaned and rubbed her head before opening her eyes. She glanced at her watch, it was 3 a.m. The lights were off and the apartment was quiet. She slowly sat up and brushed back her hair before burying her head in her hands. She couldn't get those gruesome pictures out of her head. If anything like that happened to Ross or her nephews...

The thought made her stomach churn. Jackie quietly walked through the hall and cracked open the door of Ross's room. She stepped inside and found him asleep on the bed. Nic was asleep on the other side of it. The floorboard creaked as she stepped inside and Dominic blinked and opened his eyes.

"Aunt Jackie?" he yawned

"Shh…" she hushed quietly, brushing back his hair. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Dominic nodded his head slowly. "Why were you and my daddy fighting? He sounded really mad. Is he mad at you?" he asked quietly, folding his hands underneath his head.

She knelt down by the edge of the bed. "No. Maybe a little bit. He's just scared about some grown-up things, okay?" she explained, stroking his head. "Go to sleep. The nightmares aren't going to come back. If they do, you just call my name okay?" she whispered

Nic nodded his head then closed his eyes again. She could feel her power stir inside of her and stayed there until she knew her nephew was asleep. Jackie glanced over at Ross once before silently walking back to the living room. She stared at the entrance door, expecting the knob to turn or for it to rattle. Jackie held her breath and stood there without making any movement. Minutes felt like hours, but to her relief, nothing happened.

Ross was her only family and she wasn't going to toss him or her nephews aside so easily. But after that dream and looking through those gruesome pictures, she knew what she had to do. She pulled the card from her back pocket and grabbed the phone. Bennet would be asleep right now, but if he really wanted to recruit her for the assignment he wouldn't care. She dialed the number and sat down on the counter. He picked up after the first ring.

"Hello?" he said, his voice sounding wide awake and alert.

"Noah, it's Jacqueline Sharp. We need to talk" she said softly into the phone, looking over her shoulder once towards the hall.

Bennet was quiet for a moment. "There's an old café two blocks from your apartment building" he told her. "Why don't we talk there?"

Jackie breathed deeply. "Tomorrow morning" she agreed "And I expect it to be just us having this conversation" she added, thinking about the more higher-ups of the company.

"I came to New York alone, Jackie. You have my word" was the last thing he said before they both hung up. Jackie stood by the counter with the phone held tightly in her hand, hoping she made the right decision.

O-0-o

Jackie tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Bennet. The hot cup of coffee was held between her hands. She took a long sip of her beverage and it burned her throat, but she hardly noticed.

"I must say Jackie, I didn't expect you to change your mind so quickly" Noah said as he sat in the chair across from her. The waitress walked over to him with her little notepad. Bennet ordered a cup of coffee and the waitress silently walked away.

She crossed her arms and leaned over the table. "I will say this, Noah, it wasn't because of your persuasive words. I have my own reasons for considering this assignment. Nightmares, being one reason, tend to be great motivators for quick decision making" she explained

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Nightmare?" he asked confusingly

"One I'd rather not repeat" she prompted "I don't see the future, Noah. You know as well as I do that's not my power, so talking about it won't get you any closer to finding the man you're looking for. If what you're saying about this guy is true..." she explained

"Sylar" he reminded "Were the pictures I showed you not proof enough that he exists"

"As I said, I have my own reasons for agreeing to this assignment. You know what kind of woman I am, Noah. I need the real proof in front of me, not in pictures" she replied "If this guy is real; I can't have him within a hundred miles of my family or anyone else I love. They can't get caught in the crossfire" she told him

"Ross doesn't know you're here, does he" Noah stated

Jackie sighed and shook her head solemnly. "Ross saw you and me talking at the park the other day. When he confronted me I told him the truth; we had a fight over it" she said. He sighed deeply. Jackie could practically read his mind. She knew he was thinking about the Haitian. "The Haitian stays away too" she prompted sternly

"Jackie..."

"_You're_ the one that came to recruit me for this assignment. This is my price: the company and anyone involved stays away from my family. If not, then I finish my coffee and I'm on my way out" she proposed, leaning back in her chair. Bennet was quiet for a long time before silently nodding his head once in agreement. Jackie took a long sip of her coffee before putting the cup back down on the table. "Ross isn't going to be too happy about the decision"

Bennet placed his briefcase on the table and took out a folder. "Maybe he needs more reason" he suggested, pushing the folder towards her.

Jackie raised an eyebrow and took it from him. It was the folder that showed all of Sylar's killings. She exhaled then looked back at him. "When do we leave?" she asked

"Tomorrow night. Meet me at JFK and we'll leave for Odessa" he answered "I'm sure you'll have more than enough time to say goodbye" he added

"Enough time doesn't mean it'll be easier" she pointed out "Though I can't say I'm not looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces" Jackie admitted

Noah extended his hand out to her. "Welcome back" he said "Jacqueline Reed"

She chuckled. Never thought she'd like the sound of her real name (or her last name at least).

**Please review!**


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